Standard Poor’s (SP) Ratings Services on Friday affirmed Israel’s credit ratings as ‘A+/A-1’ with a stable outlook.

The agency said it assumes Israel’s economy will grow at an average rate of about 2.5% in 2016-2019, despite risks of weaker global demand.

According to SP, the issue of housing is a major challenge in Israel and despite the fact that the government is trying to handle the challenge using a variety of measures to address the problems of supply, it is expected that the impact will be limited in the near term.

SP previously affirmed its ‘A+/A-1’ long- and short-term credit ratings for Israel, with a stable outlook, in the month of February.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)